Thursday, September 14, 2006

The Rat Skyscraper

As soon as the Fed Ex guy delivered the rat skyscraper, the kids were on the phone to Dad. He took his lunch hour and came home to put it together. This cage is truly a skyscraper. It would be like a 6,000 sq. ft. house to you and me. These rats are living in luxury.

The funny thing is how the kids, and Rob, love these rats. Rob has been dubbed the Rat King and the boys, the Rat Princes. Even sweet little Princess Rose loves cuddling with the rodents. Ick. I suppose I've been prejudiced by those rat movies of my youth: Willard and Ben. Then there's the icky Templeton of Charlotte's Web. And all the examples of real live vermin. Double ick.

But I'm told domesticated rats are nothing like their vermin counterparts. In fact, I'm also told, that if you're going to have small animals, domesticated rats are the way to go. They're smart, trainable, and very social.

I'm tellin' you Karen, can you believe that rat palace! If your kids do see it, just explain that rats are like ten times bigger than hamsters. The rats will get up to 8 inches long not counting their tails.) Triple ick.